Will Smith’s new mindset pays off as Sharks star’s hot streak continues in win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Will Smith recently made a conscious change to his game, and it’s paying dividends for the young Sharks center.
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His two-goal night helped San Jose secure a 6-3 win over the Utah Mammoth on Monday at SAP Center and improve to 13-11-3. Smith’s first goal of the night had to be seen to be believed, and he credits his near-hat trick to simply shooting the puck more.
“Just trying to shoot a lot,” Smith told reporters after the game. “I think the more you shoot, you have a better chance of scoring. Just try to get pucks on net, and then see what happens.”
What happened was a thing of beauty on Smith’s first goal, which came with 13:44 left in the second period and gave the Sharks a 4-2 lead. Smith dangled through the Mammoth’s defense before flipping in the shot, marking his third consecutive game with a goal.
After scoring again less than three minutes later to push San Jose ahead 6-2, Smith became the second player age 20 or younger in Sharks history to have multiple goals in consecutive games after scoring twice against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, joining Tomas Hertl (Oct. 5-8, 2013).
Sharks veteran Tyler Toffoli also scored twice in the first period Monday against Utah — his first game with a goal since Nov. 5 — and had two assists.
Pavol Regenda scored on a power-play goal in his Sharks debut during the third period, and Adam Gaudette scored a goal in the second that was sandwiched between Smith’s two scores.
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Macklin Celebrini didn’t score Monday but finished with three assists, bringing his season total to 26, while goalie Yaroslav Askarov ended the night with 31 saves and the rookie lead in wins with 10. In Monday’s win, Celebrini became the fourth teen in NHL history to reach 40 points in 27 or fewer games, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby.
After Monday’s victory, the Sharks currently own the Western Conference’s No. 1 wild-card spot and have won eight of their last nine home games. It isn’t lost on Smith how great of a group San Jose has both on and off the ice.
“We’re super tight off the ice,” Smith told NBC Sports California’s Tara Slone after the win. “I think everyone knows that, if you see s at the practice rink or even playing soccer before the games, you can just tell how tight of a group we have.
“It’s special to be a part of.”
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